Cat brought live mouse into house

[Deleted]

I need advice. Last night my cat was meowing from outside so I let her in thinking that's what she wants. She proceeded into the kitchen and deposited what I tought was a dead mouse in the middle of the kitchen. I decided to try and get something to get rid of it, but when I was back the mouse was moving and my cat was playing with it. Unfortunately, before I could catch it, it slipped behind the counters... and my cat couldn't get in there either.

So, there is now a living mouse in my kitchen. My cat got bored of searching for it after a while... and since it was 2 in the morning, after sitting 1 hour searching for it I also got tired of searching for it. It is now 14:30 and I have tried searching behind the counters all morning, behind the fridge, behind the stove... I have no clue where the mouse went. I had put some books under the kitchen door so it doesn't escape in the living room (at least I hope it did not). Here's the catch, there are doors from the kitchen to the attic and the basement and I don't know if he might have escaped under either. He could be anywhere in the kitchen... or he could be gone. How do I find out?

Edit: Update 2 days later! I managed to help one of my cats (the one who brought it in in the first place) to recapture it. The first time she just started playing with it and I couldn't get it as she'd let it free then chase it. Eventually it hid under the fridge. So I decided on a new tactic. Later on I helped her capture it again but after I had opened the outside door. After she caught it, I herded her outside. She didn't know WTF was happening so went ahead and I closed the door. As she meowed outside I thought maybe she let it go and she could come back in. Nope, she wanted to enter the house again with the mouse, so I close the door and left her outside with her mouse. Now I literally sealed all windows and doors. She can come back tomorrow after she either ate it or let it go. And don't worry, she's an outdoor cat mostly.

[Deleted]

Get a mouse trap and be done with it.

[Cyberowl]

My cat eventually dealt with it. She got bored at first too, but the constant scratching eventually made her interested again.

Make your cat clean up the mess, leave her for some hours in the room. Or get a mouse trap.

[dextersmith]

Could you try to vacuum the mouse hole?

[Blueobelisk]

Get a mouse trap. And a different pet.

[yetgdhfgh]

Your cat thinks you suck at catching live prey and she/he wants to teach you

You should be thankful that your cat wants to teach you how to be a better hunter!

[Deleted]

Just get a animal friendly mouse trap (one that does not kill it) and put the mouse outside somewhere in nature...

[Malacrass]

Your cat thinks you suck at catching live prey and she/he wants to teach you

You should be thankful that your cat wants to teach you how to be a better hunter!

At first I thought this is a joke, but apparently that's a real theory.

"In the wild, cat mothers teach their young how to eat their food by bringing home dead or injured prey. Domestic cats are no different. But in this modern age of spayed domestic cats, many female felines have no young to whom they need to pass on their hunting wisdom.

By leaving a dead animal on the back porch, your cat is acting out its natural role as mother and teacher. You, her loving owner, represent her surrogate family. And frankly, she knows you would never have been able to catch that delicious mouse on your own."

Sounds reasonable to me.

Anyone got a male cat bringing home prey? If they do than this might be bogus.

[bloodmoth13]

Your fucked, its carrying the bubonic plague and your house is already tainted! as we speak the mouse is forming an unholy alliance with the cobweb spiders and the fridge roaches, best to cut your losses now and torch your house to the ground, there is no time to waste!

But seriously, its just a mouse.

I have 4 cats atm (live on a farm and adopted 3 barn cats, 1 not mine), 1 is lazy as fuck (first cat, spoilt), another is a little goofy (recent kitten rescue), one is ripped to hell and back to the point you can see its muscle groups (Mittens, former pet of house owner who was given back to him by his x), and one is a tiny cat we took in as an older wild kitten that didnt grow very big (got pregnant before i tamed it)

out of my 4 cats, only 1 catches anything, the little wild cat, every other day shes meowing outside with a mouse or a bird or something. With the birds, all i find are a few feathers and its 2 feet, cat eats the rest...

Holy crap, the other day she was sitting on the arm of my sofa, and projectile coughs half a mouse up on my lounge floor, then runs behind the couch and coughs up the other half!

Her best haul was a rat the length of my hand, crunched its body flat.

- - - Updated - - -

Just get a animal friendly mouse trap (one that does not kill it) and put the mouse outside somewhere in nature...

Put it under your house, it will be grateful and leave your food stores alone out of mutual respect

[unbound]

Mouse trap with peanut butter (obviously keep the cat out of the room, or use a mouse trap the cat can't get caught on).

[Alski]

Get a cat trap and put the mouse in a cage.

[Celista]

At first I thought this is a joke, but apparently that's a real theory.



Sounds reasonable to me.

Anyone got a male cat bringing home prey? If they do than this might be bogus.

I totally believe this theory, although I don't think it's gender-specific behavior. Could be bonding/taking care of other members of their social group (even if cats aren't pack animals), could be showing off their hunting prowess. Possibly both.

When my Golden Retriever was 4 months old, my roommate's male cat brought her a dead chickadee. Walked across the house and laid the bird directly at her feet.

Needless to say, my dog was very impressed.

[Fargus]

Just don't get a glue trap, unless you're for torturing animals... which at that point it'd be fruitless to offer advice.

[poser765]

At first I thought this is a joke, but apparently that's a real theory.



Sounds reasonable to me.

Anyone got a male cat bringing home prey? If they do than this might be bogus.

Our cats do this. They've brought home a number of things...dead and alive. House cats are very interesting animals. People seem quick to judge them as snobs, or lazy, but there is a lot going on most don't notice. Go read the Wikipedia page for the house cat. Some of the stuff about their ranges, social bonds with us and other cats, and impact on nature is pretty damn fascinating.

[Kithelle]

At first I thought this is a joke, but apparently that's a real theory.



Sounds reasonable to me.

Anyone got a male cat bringing home prey? If they do than this might be bogus.

This happened with my Brother and a female cat of his once...

[Sunseeker]

Clearly you are starving and should eat it. Your cat didn't get bored of hunting/playing, it got bored of trying to teach you to eat.

[Deleted]

Thank you all for advice. I caught all 4 of my cats and locked them in the kitchen together. Now it's only a matter of time. If the mouse is still there, it won't be there for long. Hopefully. If not, I'll try peanut butter and the old trap from the attic ( it is not a glue trap for those wondering, it is simply a cage that closes when the bait is touched and the mouse can afterwards be released ... somewhere).

[Deleted]

Update! I managed to help one of my cats (the one who brought it in in the first place) to recapture it. The first time she just started playing with it and I couldn't get it as she'd let it free then chase it. Eventually it hid under the fridge. So I decided on a new tactic. Later on I helped her capture it again but after I had opened the outside door. After she caught it, I herded her outside. She didn't know WTF was happening so went ahead and I closed the door. As she meowed outside I thought maybe she let it go and she could come back in. Nope, she wanted to enter the house again with the mouse, so I close the door and left her outside with her mouse. Now I literally sealed all windows and doors. She can come back tomorrow after she either ate it or let it go. And don't worry, she's an outdoor cat.

Thanks all for advice and help!

[Cyberowl]

Update! I managed to help one of my cats (the one who brought it in in the first place) to recapture it. The first time she just started playing with it and I couldn't get it as she'd let it free then chase it. Eventually it hid under the fridge. So I decided on a new tactic. Later on I helped her capture it again but after I had opened the outside door. After she caught it, I herded her outside. She didn't know WTF was happening so went ahead and I closed the door. As she meowed outside I thought maybe she let it go and she could come back in. Nope, she wanted to enter the house again with the mouse, so I close the door and left her outside with her mouse. Now I literally sealed all windows and doors. She can come back tomorrow after she either ate it or let it go. And don't worry, she's an outdoor cat.

Thanks all for advice and help!

She just wants you to hunt a bit yourself, you lazy bastard!

[Daymanmb]

My cat eventually dealt with it. She got bored at first too, but the constant scratching eventually made her interested again.

Make your cat clean up the mess, leave her for some hours in the room. Or get a mouse trap.

Cats teach others to mouse this way. They'll capture a rodent and loosely control it while you learn to catch it.